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One of the major strands or orientations in Cognitive Linguistics refers to the branch of Cognitive Psycholinguistics which includes experimental research geared at cognitive operations underlying the processing of language and communication (Dirven). In this vein, the Symposium is intended to bring together specialists from various areas, including linguistics, psycholinguistics, and anthropological linguistics who investigate the relationship between language and cognition in bilingualism, cross-cultural studies and communication research.

The idea that the language we speak influences the way we think has evoked perennial fascination and intense controversy. From a more moderate perspective it is now generally agreed that becoming a competent speaker of a language requires language-specific modes of on-line processing, i.e. 'thinking for speaking' (Slobin), an assumption which may encompass bilingual speech and communication patterns. Furthermore, culture exists and persists in and through linguistic and communication processing. Although the last two decades have been marked by extreme skepticism concerning the possible effects of language on cognition, recent theoretical and methodological advances in linguistics, cognitive science and anthropology have given the question new life. Section 1, therefore, explores the relation between language and thought from a Neo-Whorfian perspective. It investigates the essential idea of linguistic relativity, the assumption that culture, through language and communication, may have an impact on thought and world-view. Section 2 explores language and cognition in the bilingual mind and bilingual groups by focusing on the effect of communicative proficiency and language-specific effects on bi-and multilinguals' thinking. For example, a better understanding of the ways in which bi- and multilingual individuals represent, process, perform and experience emotions can provide valuable insights for the fields of bilingualism and communication studies in general (Pavlenko). Section 3 is concerned with processes of bilingual language acquisition and strategies evident in early childhood communication patterns. In line with the framework of Cognitive Sociolinguistics (LAUD 2010) the 2012 LAUD Symposium strongly supports a usage-based approach to language and cognition in bilingual acquisition based on sound empirical methods of data collection and the use of language corpora.

Almost a decade ago, Stephen C. Levinson suggested that most current thinking in the cognitive sciences underestimates the 'transformative power' of language on thinking (2002). This section constitutes yet another attempt to revive this interest in linguistic relativity, i.e. the complex interaction of language, culture, thought and world-view. Recently, an increasing amount of attention has been paid to this very issue. One of the most vocal expressions of these ideas is found in the work of psychologist Lera Boroditsky who advocates the idea that people who speak different languages do indeed think differently and that one's native language plays an important role in shaping habitual thought. To put it bluntly, this session will tackle the two opposing stances: 'Do the languages we speak shape the way we see the world' (Boroditsky) or 'is nearly every instance of this idea in the mass media false or seriously misleading' (Liberman, Economist Debates, p.4).

In the context of this theme, we invite abstracts on topics and research questions like the following:

- Theories of human cognition - The effect of usage-based approaches to language in bilingual language acquisition research - Different construals within language, thought and culture - Do differences between languages yield different cognitive abilities? - Does learning new languages change the way we think? - The construal of space, time and gender in language and thought - The role of context in language and cognition - The extent of linguistic and cultural universals; i.e. nature vs. nurture - The universalist/relativist debate, e.g. emotionology

This section intends to explore the way bilingualism affects linguistic and cognitive performance across the lifespan (Bialystok), i.e. the effect of linguistic proficiency and processing constraints on bilinguals' divergent thinking. How does the fact that bilinguals speak more than one language influence the way they process language? How do bilinguals store information they acquire in different languages (i.e. common vs. separate storage?). A great number of issues still remain unresolved in this interdisciplinary area of language, and cognitive processing and bilingual data could shed new light not only on bilingual processing but on language processing in general. Emotionality, executive control processes, psycholinguistic processes in codeswitching and transfer of conceptualization patterns generally determine the effects of bilingualism on theory of mind development, i.e. a detailed understanding of the functioning of the bilingual mind.

In the context of this theme, we invite abstracts on topics like the following:

- The effects of bilingualism in various areas of cognitive development - The development of executive control processes - Models of bilingual speech production - Development of concepts in the bilingual mind, and the nature of the dual language system - Processing constraints of the speaker's bilingual competence - Cognitive integration of language and memory in bilinguals - Representation of color concepts in bilingual cognition - Psycholinguistic aspects of codeswitching/codemixing - Emotions in multiple languages - Emotion concepts: Does differential emotionality affect codeswitching and language choice in bi- and multilinguals? - The nature and function of gesture in children's communications - Cognitive processes associated with nonverbal communication (e.g. gestures) - Transfer or cross-linguistic influence in bilinguals' concepts and conceptualizations, e.g. in categorization and construal - Cross-linguistic activation in bilingual sentence processing - Event conceptualization by early bilinguals (e.g. eye-tracking data)

Theme Session 3: Bilingual Acquisition and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

This section focuses on the simultaneous acquisition of two (or more) languages from birth or what is generally referred to as Bilingual First Language Acquisition (BFLA). Psycholinguistic processes of acquisition and production will be discussed from a usage-based perspective. One of the central questions will be whether the developmental and cognitive path and time course of language development is the same as that of children acquiring only one language. The focus will be on case studies in the field of early bilingual acquisition which requires experimental designs and empirical methods of data collection (e.g. computer databases).

In the context of this theme, we invite abstracts on topics like the following:

- Usage-based theories of bilingual language acquisition - Case studies and methodologies in the field of bilingual acquisition - Criteria to distinguish simultaneous from successive dual language learners - Unbalanced bilingual acquisition and uneven development in BFLA - Concept formation in early bilingual acquisition - Child bilingual codemixing: linguistic and cognitive constraints in communication - Cross-linguistic, cross-cultural (and cross-conceptual) influence - Pragmatic development in early infancy - The acquisition and development of early syntactic constructions - Vocabulary acquisition: e.g. synonymy and idiomaticity in lexical development - Development of metalinguistic awareness and cognitive flexibility

Submission of Abstracts:

Submissions are solicited for theme session presentations which should last for 20-25 minutes with 5-10 minutes for questions (maximum 30 minutes total).

All submissions for presentations should follow the following abstract guidelines:

The deadline for abstracts is October 15, 2011. The address for submitting the abstracts is Martin Pütz, Puetzuni-landau.de. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words. The subject header of your email should include: Abstract LAUD 2012 - name/s.

Please include the following information in the main body of your email: name of author/s, affiliation, email address, presentation title. Please also state for which of the 3 theme sessions, as listed above, your contribution is intended.